Ike Turner Passes Away at 76
December 12, 2007

A legend of rock 'n' roll, Ike Turner, has passed away at the age of 76, as confirmed by an official with his management company to Reuters this afternoon. Ike Turner rose to fame in the 1950s with his then-wife Tina Turner. Scott Hanover of Thrill Entertainment told the press, "Ike Turner passed away this morning. He was at his home." Sadly, that's about all we know right now. There was no information given on cause of death.

Ike Wister Turner was born November 5th, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. At the age of eight, he was already in love with music, working at the Clarksdale radio station, WROX.

In 1951, Ike Turner recorded the song "Rocket 88" with his band the Rhythm Kings, a track often cited as one of the first rock songs ever written. According to Reuters, the song was credited to saxophone player Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats but Ike Turner played on it and was immediately a part of rock history. He would become even more so when he paired with Tina Turner. Before that, he played with B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Willie Dixon in the 1950s. In 1958, Ike Turner married Annie Mae Bullock, who changed her name to Tina Turner and music would never be the same.

Tina and Ike Turner performed together on hits like "A Fool in Love," "Whole Lotta Love," "It's Gonna Work Out Fine," "I Idolize You," "Poor Fool," "Tra La La La," "I Want to Take You Higher," "River Deep, Mountain High," "Proud Mary," and "Nutbush City Limits." They won a Grammy together for their work on "Proud Mary," and Ike Turner added another top honor to his collection earlier this year for his traditional blues album Risin' with the Blues.

Ike and Tina divorced in 1976 and the next few years were very rough on Ike Turner. He fell into some serious cocaine abuse and Tina Turner revealed in the mid-'80s that she had suffered serious abuse at the hands of Ike, a story chronicled in the movie What's Love Got to Do With It? The Turners were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ike Turner.

Other recent deaths in the world of music include Kevin DuBrow, Pimp C and Robert Goulet.